Four Pinocchios to Durbin for claiming 10 million additional insured under ObamaCare

posted at 10:01 am on February 10, 2014 by Ed Morrissey

Just how much spin can Dick Durbin fit into a single response? Yesterday on Face the Nation, Senator Durbin told Bob Schieffer that “the bottom line” on ObamaCare was that it would lower the deficit more than Democrats first claimed, and that 10 million Americans had gotten insurance through it and would otherwise be uninsured:

SCHIEFFER: Let me also ask both of you, more confusion, apparently, now, on — on health care. We now learn that the administration has told people, although they haven’t announced it publicly or hadn’t at the time, Senator Durbin, that if you don’t like your health care plan, in some cases, you can now switch and get another one. I mean, this thing just seems, every day, in every way, seems to me more confused. Is there any hope of getting it straightened out?

DURBIN: Bob, let’s look at the bottom line. The bottom line is this. Ten million Americans have health insurance today who would not have had it without the Affordable Care Act — 10 million. And we can also say this. It is going to reduce the deficit more than we thought it would. We were seeing a decline in the growth of the cost of health care, exactly our goal in passing this original legislation. I’m finding people, as I go across Illinois, who, for the first time in their lives, have an opportunity for affordable health insurance for their families. Now, there are many republicans who are wishing that this fails, hoping they can find any shred of evidence against it. But we had a bad rollout. Let’s concede that point. Since then, we are gaining steam. And I think, ultimately, we’re going to find you can’t go back. You have to extend the health insurance protection to the 25 million, 30 million Americans who will ultimately have it, and we’ll be a better nation for it.

First, the CBO report did not say that deficits would be lower than claimed because of ObamaCare. In fact, they warned of rapidly increasing deficits by the end of the current ten-year projection, after a small decline at present to, er, a half-trillion dollars — larger than any fiscal year in a George W. Bush-signed budget.

But more astonishing is the claim that 10 million people have insurance now that would not have had it without ObamaCare. In fact, the opposite is true — there have been fewer confirmed enrollments through ObamaCare than the number of people who have lost their existing insurance plans because of the changes. The absurd nature of this flat-out lie prompted the Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler to award Durbin four Pinocchios for the claim (via JWF):

Durbin went a step further and claimed that all of these people would not have had health insurance if not for the Affordable Care Act.

That’s simply ridiculous. For instance, members of Congress, such as Durbin, previously had health insurance and are now obligated to get it via the exchanges. But the problem goes deeper than that.

The Wall Street Journal in January detailed some of the surveys that have taken of people who obtained insurance through the exchanges, and the results so far indicate that the vast majority of enrollees were previously insured.

Durbin appears to have taken two dodgy claims from the White House and added them together — those signed up for plans through exchanges and the addition of 6.3 million people to Medicaid. The issue of sign-ups vs enrollments and the previous status of those actually enrolled is part of the problem with Durbin’s claim, but so is the Medicaid figure:

Meanwhile, just last Avalere threw cold water on the 6.3 million Medicaid figure, estimating that only 1.1 to 1.8 million of the enrollees could be attributed to the Affordable Care Act. That estimate generated headlines, including a full report in The Washington Post that said it suggested “many of the people who have joined the program since the initiative’s rollout in October would have done so absent the law.”

In other words, the Medicaid enrollment numbers are so suspect that, at this point, they should not be used in any formulation regarding the Affordable Care Act.

In fact, almost all of the numbers are suspect, thanks to the incompetence at HHS and the severe flaws of the exchanges. That’s the bottom line.

Update, 2/12: It was Face the Nation, not Meet the Press, Thanks to Kerry Picket for the correction.

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How is this not proof positive that it’s a small cliche of union hacks that are electing people like Durbin. I just can’t believe that a community of families and hard working people would freely elect such a reprehensible, lying sack of carp.

I’m finding people, as I go across Illinois, who, for the first time in their lives, have an opportunity for affordable health insurance for their families.

And I’m sure that you also are finding people who, for the first time in their lives, have no health insurance thanks to the filthy rat-eared coward and all you despicable vermin. Why don’t you mention them you terrorist-loving criminal?

Not everybody in America wants to work part-time. Just the parasites who vote for Democrats. I defy you to name one hard-working Democrat in all America. Just one. Lazy stupid parasites all.

I think if our grandparents could hear this White House and the vermin in Congress say “losing 2.3 million jobs is a good thing as it keeps people from being job-locked” and imply that being a freeloader off of the government is a positive development, they probably would have thought long and hard about some of the sacrifices they made about 70 years or so ago.

I think if our grandparents could hear this White House and the vermin in Congress say “losing 2.3 million jobs is a good thing as it keeps people from being job-locked” and imply that being a freeloader off of the government is a positive development, they probably would have thought long and hard about some of the sacrifices they made about 70 years or so ago.

USNCVN on February 10, 2014 at 10:30 AM

And our young people are still dying for a nation whose leadership couldn’t care less for them, because their sacrifices don’t further a Marxist agenda.

Senator Dum-Dum does it again. Maybe if he spent more time in Illinois than he does with Senator Schumer and the other two dem senators he rooms with, he might not suffer so much from brain disengagement before speaking.

Since internet meetings are a fact of life for many, why don’t members of Congress and the Senate attend meetings from offices in their home states and only go to Washington for the start of Congress after an election and for the State of the Union address. This could give their constituents more influence on their votes than the Washington lobbiests have.

Never let the truth get in the way of a good story. Apparently Durbin thinks he and his party can continue to deceive people in this manner as they’ve done since this law was enacted. Let’s all do our part to make sure these guys are held accountable for this travesty.

I think if our grandparents could hear this White House and the vermin in Congress say “losing 2.3 million jobs is a good thing as it keeps people from being job-locked”

USNCVN on February 10, 2014 at 10:30 AM

Not just eliminating job-lock! Sponging off the government instead of working means you get to cook dinner at home! We are becoming France (or Greece, or Spain, or any European socialist state). AND THE DEMOCRATS ARE LAUDING IT AS A POSITIVE THING!

Again, there isn’t one Democrat in America that isn’t a parasite who contributes nothing to society.

Durbin may be in the fight of his life in Illinois, as he has some strong challengers for his seat. The Obamacare mess he voted for, should remove him from the Senate. Would be a big upset but is a possibility.

In fact, almost all of the numbers are suspect, thanks to the incompetence at HHS and the severe flaws of the exchanges. That’s the bottom line.

And not just suspect numbers regarding Obamacare….

…and those suspect numbers have nothing to do with incompetence and everything to do with a feckless Administration overly focused on politics and appearances that demonstrates itself as little more than a farce with its claim that it is the ‘most open and transparent Administration’s ever’. The frequency and arrogance of the lies are pathological…

One of the WaPoo’s apologists, Kessler, however will only note these lies when they are just so obvious, so over the top, that even the lapdog media sycophants have to throw a flag on the claim…

It won’t be long until the press corps go after politicians like Durbin, Schumer, and especially Obama. They’ll dig out the truth! Why I remember Watergate and how Dan Rather pummelled Nixon. Those two strong WaPo investigative reporters, Woodward and Bernstein worked night and day to ferret out Deep Throat.
What? You say Nixon was a Republican? Oh, I forgot. You say Reporters International Union forbids bipartisan investigative reporting? oh, I see………………………….

What will astound historians is when they examine the money spent by the Gimmedats from 2006 onward they will be amazed at the both the amount spent and that NOTHING was accomplished.
I hope they conclude (as few in the gaggle of Presstitutes are able) that this was the fundamental purpose of the Gimmedats. (The name escapes me but he was a MA-pol in FDR cabinet) who said: “We will tax and tax and spend and spend.” With no specific purpose in mind of course.
In our modern era there is a purpose with King Putt’s policies and that is the incremental demolition of our economy and society.

Old people have to sign up for medicare. The regs are such that you are penalized if you don’t and your current primary coverage won’t cover you anymore. It’s not free either, there are premiums and the go up each year while the coverage goes down. No wonder docs don’t want you as a patient anymore.
At some point you have to wonder if these people really do live in an alternate world or they just like to lie to your face for political gain. Selling one’s soul for profit is what Jesus was talking about when he said the rich would not see Heaven.